Safe Passage reimbursement measure picks up steam

SPRINGFIELD — A measure to help Chicago school children get a free ride to and from school if they live in special Safe Passage routes through high crime areas is gaining steam at the Capitol.

Sponsoring Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, said the legislation would set up a system to provide parents with a reimbursement to pay someone to drive the children. Reimbursements could go to a driver, such as a parent or neighbor, willing to take neighborhood children to schools, Lightford said.

Republican opponents argued the state could end up paying tens of millions of dollars, potentially draining money from other schools that would compete for limited transportation funds. Lightford said there will be a minimal cost burden on Chicago Public Schools.

Lightford said the measure arose in response to a December incident in which a 15-year-old girl was found sexually assaulted on her way to school on the city's Northwest Side. The girl was found less than half a block from one of the Safe Passage routes, patrolled areas that were set up for the current school year to help students who have longer walks in the wake of dozens of school closings.

“Even with the passages, violence was occurring,” she said. “The closing of Chicago schools put kids in the way and in danger of gang violence. This bill aims to get them to school and home safely.”

Last year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s school board closed 49 elementary schools and one high school program. The educational restructuring led the mayor to put together a Safe Passage program to protect children traveling longer distances through tough neighborhoods to new schools by posting firefighters and other public employees to keep watch alongside workers paid $10 an hour to man street corners and try to stop trouble from brewing. Despite the daunting nature of the task, there have been no reported instances of students hurt on the routes to and from school.

The legislation passed the Senate on 39-13 vote Friday and heads to the House.